Episode 1088 (2 February 1995)
Synopsis Bianca and Tiffany cause a stir, while Natalie and Ricky have a night to remember when they share their feelings about how Bianca's been treating them. Binnie finds it hard to cope at the salon, but is determined to prove to Della that she can do the job. Mark gets a special birthday gift, and Roy confides in Kathy about his feelings for Pat. Della continued to slave-drive Binnie, until she gave up the job, and she then realised that Della had been aiming to do this all along, though why I have no idea. Mark had his birthday and then started wondering about how many he had left. However, Ruth cheered him up a bit and they all gave him a model of a motorbike, which seemed like a very weird gift, but he liked it anyway. Jules told Pauline about Nellie giving David all her money so Pauline had a word and Nellie said it was just that she was jealous, and wanted the money herself. She said that it seemed a bit unfair as Nellie hadn't given Mark a birthday present, but was giving David thousands. Nellie says he is making something of himself, and should be encouraged. Tiff and Bianca go round Carol's to get ready to go out, and Carol asks what's wrong with her own house, and B says Ricky will be in the way there. Carol points out that Ricky lives there (and pays for it of course, but then B tends to take that sort of thing for granted.) Tiffany is conciliatory and they start, Bianca puts on a green slime face mask, but it's a huge improvement on her normal looks of course. Carol then says that Bianca should let Robbie do her chip shop shift. She says no, then Carol says how about you do that and I let you use the hair dryer, bath and rooms to get ready to go out and I don't throw you out on the street looking like something from the black lagoon. B says OK then, but Robbie takes his dog. Jason, the guy in the chip shop gets fed up and tells him to go as he can't have it in there, and Robbie says he'll have to give him a fiver or he will tell the environmental health people that he let the dog in there anyway. Carol asks why he's home early and he tells her, she says "that's blackmail" and Robbie says "it is? wow, cool!" Bianca and Tiffany appear after the dressing session, though it might more accurately be called undressing, as Bianca has on a purple slip that looks like a very short underskirt and is quite revolting. Tiffany has something a little more flattering, it's black and short with a bit of leopard-skin tacked across the front somehow, and it definitely looks like a Miss Selfridge "bargain". Carol says "you're not going out in that are you?" Bianca says yes, and Carol says "it says one thing and one thing only".(slapper springs instantly to mind) Bianca says good 'coz that's what I want it to say. Tiff suggests they go to the Vic first, and Bianca agrees just to wind Ricky up. It works of course, and Ricky is pretty upset, tells her she can't go out like that, and she replies in her usual unconciliatory manner. Mark apologises to Ricky for the other evening, and Ricky says forget it, it was his fault. Mark and Ruth are chatting and everyone is celebrating Mark's birthday, and Ricky gets fed up and leaves, at about the same time Natalie does (Kathy brought her to cheer her up as she had been moping around the café for so long). They sort of bump into each other and sympathise about Bianca being nasty, about the fact they'll both be going home for a boring evening in, and Ricky says do you want a drink then? So they sit and chat and have a long conversation about what Bianca was like at school, etc and Natalie says she was an ungainly thing, and they were friends at 11, then Bianca grew up and got pretty and she didn't. Ricky says but you are pretty. And Natalie says thanks. Mark looks over at the two of them chatting and smiles. He and Ruth go outside and look at the stars, and generally be affectionate and she says they're lucky really, especially seeing how Bianca was messing Ricky about, and she hopes he'll be OK, Mark says he thinks that Ricky'll be fine. (with Natalie!) Ricky suggests that they get some food, and Natalie says err OK, where are we going to eat it, Ricky says the bed sit, totally innocently, so Natalie agrees. They go back there, have a chinese, and Nat spills some on her top. She says damn, this was new, and it'll never come out etc. Ricky says yes it will, take it off, ..Natalie looks at him surprisedly, and he says, here wear this (handing her a shirt) and turns round while she changes, he takes the top and says I know what'll do it - this is what Pat told me and it always works if you catch it quickly. He takes it to the sink and comments about how boring he is knowing all this and Bianca's right and he just thought she'd want a bit of security and a home. Natalie says he's OK, and Bianca just needs to grow up and get a sense of responsibility. They talk some more, Ricky says how nice it is to have someone to talk to everything about, and how different she is from Bianca, and he's surprised as they were a "double act." but she's totally different and not like Bianca at all. Natalie says that Bianca will come round and she only goes out with Tiffany to wind each other up, and B still likes Ricky. He says that she's not so special really, and is generally disgruntled with her. He says that it's really nice to talk to Nat, and he never talks to B like this, and Natalie says she doesn't either. And that it's nice to talk to him, as most men round here just pretend to be your friend, but when it comes down to it just want one thing. They continue to chat and it's quite late. Ricky says he'll walk her home when she wants. She asks if he's trying to get rid of her, and he says no of course not. She says it wasn't long ago that someone walked her home just to make a pass at her. Ricky says he didn't mean that, and she says she knows, and she likes the fact that he's so straightforward and has no angle on what he says, and most men try it on when you don't want them to but he, on the other hand... and she kisses him, Ricky kisses her back and they start to undress a bit, when Natalie says stop, and explains that she's a virgin and she hasn't done it before, he says what about...(her stories) she says well, what do you think, and she's sorry and she runs out. Ricky is annoyed, pours himself another glass of wine, then there's a quiet knock on the door. She comes back in, says sorry about it all, and they get down to it.... Credits Main cast *Sid Owen as Ricky *Lucy Speed as Natalie *Wendy Richard as Pauline *Bill Treacher as Arthur *Todd Carty as Mark *Caroline Paterson as Ruth *Patsy Palmer as Bianca *Martine McCutheon as Tiffany *Michelle Joseph as Della *Sophie Langham as Binnie *Lindsey Coulson as Carol *Howard Antony as Alan *Dean Gaffney as Robbie *Natalie Cassidy as Sonia *Gillian Taylforth as Kathy *Tony Caunter as Roy *Deepak Verma as Sanjay *Shobu Kapoor as Gita *Tommy Eytle as Jules *Elizabeth Kelly as Nellie *Mona Hammond as Blossom *Mark Monero as Steve *Paul Bradley as Nigel *Nicola Duffett as Debbie *Ron Tarr as Big Ron *Amanda Wise as Customer Category:Episode Category:1995 Episodes